Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, the GAA, a number of priests and hundreds of Clare citizens are to share in a €2.67 million windfall from the sale of Clare FM and a controlling interest in Tipp FM to Radio Kerry.
The price was revealed after it emerged that Radio Kerry is offering €7.50 per share for the purchase of Clare Community Radio Holdings plc.
The €2.67 million price is significantly less than the €7.2 million or €20 per share Radio Kerry had offered to buy Clare FM in a planned deal which collapsed in 2008.
In a letter to over 500 shareholders, chairman of Clare Community Radio Holdings plc, Maurice Harvey stated that the board is recommending acceptance of the fresh offer and has given shareholders until 31 January to give their response.
In the letter, Harvey told shareholders that the board is recommending the offer “as consolidation within the industry will strengthen and secure the future of all involved”.
Harvey said that Radio Kerry and Clare Community Radio Holdings plc “have forged a close working relationship over the years and share the same local ethos and values”.
He added that the transaction – subject to approval from the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) – is likely to be complete in the first half of this year.
Most of the shareholders in the up until now locally-owned Clare Community Radio Holdings plc own shareholdings or 50 and 100 shares.
They were purchased for €1.27 each almost three decades ago and the owners of the shares now stand to gain between €375 and €750 for those shares.
However, a number of the members of the board of Clare Community Radio Holdings are set to benefit handsomely from the sale.
Managing Director of Clare FM and board member at the Shannon Group, Liam O’Shea, will be one of the main beneficiaries and stands to receive €154,762 from the deal.
A brother of former Tipperary hurling manager, Eamon O’Shea, Liam O’Shea has been at the helm at Clare FM since 1998 and oversaw the station’s purchase of Tipp FM where he is also MD.
Other board members in line for welcome payouts include General Manager at Clare FM, Susan Murphy who is due to receive €75,000 and the Managing Director of The Clare Champion, John Galvin who is due to receive €90,000.
Founding chief executive with Clare FM in 1989, Caimin Jones said today that the price offered by Radio Kerry “is realistic and fair in terms of the challenges currently faced by the media industry”.
Jones said that it is ironic that Clare FM was passing out of local control 30 years after it was established in 1989.
A shareholder with Clare Community Radio Holdings, Jones said that his head would be ruling his heart and he will be accepting the offer. He said: “Radio Kerry and Clare FM are a good fit.”
As part of the planned sale, Clare GAA is set to receive €37,500 from its shareholding while the Diocese of Killaloe is set to receive €70,500.
In addition, a number of priests who bought shares are to receive sums ranging from €750 to €2,625 while former TD, Dr Moosajee Bhamjee, is set to receive €1,125 for his minor shareholding.
The most recent accounts for the Clare FM firm show that it recorded a pre-tax loss of €180,566 in 2017 after revenues dipped marginally to €1.61 million.
However, the loss takes into account the company writing off €300,000 in an investment and non-cash depreciation costs of €103,085.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Any chance the Catholic Church can pay off their bill with the Magdelane Laundries with it? Or use the money for an investigation into the Tuam Etc baby scandals? Some chance.
@Dermot Foley: This wouldn’t be relevant for such payments.
@Phillip O’Brien: enlighten me..
@Dermot Foley: ONE Dioceses gets 70 Grand and a few Priests get up to 2,500 for shares bought 30 years ago – Not exactly rolling in it are they?
Read the bloody article
@Dermot Foley: You need to read the article. This is a number of local priests and one diocese – local church not universal church.
@Phillip O’Brien: Ah, the old “shift the blame carousel” of the Catholic Church. It has served them well, and kept them materially wealthy beyond their wildest dreams.
@Phillip O’Brien: you think no abuses or cover ups happened in that diocese? Really?
@Phillip O’Brien:
And 500 other Shareholders.
@Orla Smith: There is nothing in my comment that shifts blame.
@Dermot Foley: good man dermot. I never thought of that
@Pixie McMullen: when is our “partial and independent ” media going to heck out the 200 million euros of taxpayers money given to the Clinton Foundation by successive Irish Governments . See Gemma O’DOHERTY and Charles Ortell on that, in U Tube. And not a whimper from our media
Looking forward to reading what the clergy bashers have to say about this :-)
@Charles Coughlan: you didn’t have to wait long.
@Dermot Foley: And rightly so, and organizes so call saintly religion that turned out to be the “ Devil “ in disguise!
@Colette Kearns: absolutely. See my first comment.
@Dermot Foley: Do ye want a blue peter badge for that first comment or what?
@Pixie McMullen: Are you an altar boy or something?
@Orla Smith: I`ll be whatever you want me to be honey
@samstheman: Ah, sure win, some lose some… I can still leg it from the kebab shop on the date, I`ll just time the buses right
@Colette Kearns: Is there such an entity as that Devil?
@Pat Mullin: the comments section here is proof enough of that.
Whoever came up with the headline is owed a lot of pints at the Journal, That`s one HUGE bit of bait on the end of the hook…. Kudos
Do you know something? The Very Best to all of them whoever and whatever they are. We, in the East Coast of this country, are very self righteous, cosy in our attitudes, have easy access to better services and facilities of ALL kinds, have limited knowledge or experience of Life ” beyond the Pale” and we can be way too ‘ PC’ with little substance beyond that Image. These people, on the other hand, took a risk and invested their money, hopes, dreams and efforts in this initiative. And for the Gutsy, self belief, I say Fair Play and Good Luck to them if they benefit. Lets stop the pointless, ill informed, petty, PC and Self Righteous Begrudgery! Enjoy it Clare Folk.
@Margate: so somehow this is Dublins fault. Get some salt for that chip on your shoulder baby.
Any chance the gaa will stop making the state pay its players
@tubbsyf: can you give proof where the state is paying players or are you getting confused with sport grants for county players.
@Daniel Roche: yes mate, thay are being giving money for their hobby
Maybe the Journal could give us a breakdown of all the Occupations of the entire over 500 Shareholders just to be impartial. Or is that too much to ask.
Was this written by a junior cert student with special needs?
Please state specifically how much the GAA and the Catholic Church as organizations are to receive. Be precise now.
Sickening.
@Orla Smith: What is sickening exactly? Investors getting a return?
@Orla Smith: Sickening? , Seriously?? People getting an average of € 350 – 750 back on shares bought 30 years ago, a Diocese getting €70,000 , a few individual priests getting up to €2,500 as a windfall, the rest going to people who worked/ had close ties to it for 30 years….. and you find it sickening… Hyperbole much?
I`m guessing you got sucked in by the headline and went straight to the comments…
LMFAO!
Sorry guys, some of us are just not okay with a cult that abused children making money from private investments. My bad, as you were.
@Orla Smith: Seriously Orla? , yer gonna go with this as a reply?
…and to think i had high hopes for you at one stage, what with you clattering into the comments on your donkey around Christmas time..
Ah well, I`ll ask Santa for a better troll next year , one with Duracells this time.
Don’t put blind faith ahead of reason guys, release yourselves from the false promises of the cult.
@Orla Smith: LOL, now you think we are all bible thumpers…you REALLY are the gift that keeps on giving, i can`t wait for the newer version of you next Crimbo, you`re like one of those talking, learning dolls… I think i will call you Alexa…
@Orla Smith: So you include GAA, former TD, private individuals, etc?
@Orla Smith: The reason, Church, Priests, have shares in Radio Stations and local ( Parochial ) Newspapers is to be able to restrict Content, plus they can make input by way of Church Policy.
@ÓDuibhír Abú: I am far from being close to the Church, but do you not think that maybe these local radio stations set up years before the Internet and even landlines were available throughout Rural ireland weren`t financed by local parish/sports people/visinoarys/ joe soaps to deliver local news ?
This radio station was set up long before modernisation hit Rural Ireland, they helped keep a community together, and they are getting a small return on their investment, fair play to them
@ÓDuibhír Abú: Very true, spreading their tentacles of dogma and anti-everything. Such a tragedy for Ireland how the Catholic Church pinned back a new Republic against the wall for over a hundred years.
@Pixie McMullen:
Good comment, rural people know the value of local radio to advertise their community events and hear the latest news , much like the local notes in the local newspapers ,long before Facebook etc were ever invented. As you say when local radios were set up everyone in the community were approached to invest a few bob to get it off the ground.
@Orla Smith: You make relentless, Self Righteous, Ill informed, Sanctimonious and ‘Precious ‘ comments on here all the time Orla. You are so full of…contradictions. Inform thyself and STOP the Begrudgery.
@Orla Smith: They had plenty of help from our parents and grandparent who proved themselves to be nothing other than moral cowards
@Pixie McMullen: Anything critical of Roman Church, or its Priests will not be published in a Parochial News Paper That’s the beauty of having large ‘Share Holding’. One ‘Archdeacon’ who had a weekly column in local News Paper supporting Roman Church politics resigned from the Paper because he was associated with same antics as A local bishop who was removed . Their is still one priest writing his Column each week in same paper. Because of largest Shareholder, those of the Protestant Church or any other Church, would not have a weekly column allowed to reflect a differing opinion contradicting ‘Largest Share Holder’.
It is wonderful when locals start up their own News Endeavor I agree, long may it continue without ‘Dictate’ of Roman or any other Church.
@Teresa Ryan: what a disgraceful comment. Our parents & grandparents worked damn hard in a post colonial third world country to make it what it is today. You wouldn’t have lasted five minutes in those days.
@ÓDuibhír Abú: kinda like Denis o brien. Why don’t you start your own paper/radio station instead of moaning about people who put their own money in to get a local paper/station going.
Orla you are a tit.
Nobody asking why the 2008 deal collapsed. Somebody cost the shareholders a fortune.
@Frankie Mangan: Whole country going bellyup was a good indicator in fairness, not much use for rural radio after that happened
@Pixie McMullen: why? Did their ears go bankrupt in the crash. The oul recession was a great excuse for a lot of things.
For the sake of Irish radio, thank God that Susan Murphy will have nothing further to do with broadcasting. At one stage, she had 3 people working through jobbridge in there. She treated the staff horribly and only invested in new studio equipment to help sell it off.
have your say